Each of Us Is a Cherished Story

Our life is not pure chance or a mere struggle for survival, rather each of us is a cherished story loved by God. That we have "found grace in his eyes" means that the Creator sees a unique beauty in our being and that he has a magnificent plan for our lives. The awareness of this certainty, of course, does not resolve all our problems nor does it take away life's uncertainties. But it does have the power to transform our life deeply.

† Quote "It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman." — Pope St. John Paul II

† MEDITATION OF THE DAY "Indeed, the glory to which God raises the soul through grace is so great that even the natural beauty of the Angels is as nothing compared with it. The Angels themselves wonder how a soul that was sunk in the desert of this sinful earth and robbed of all natural beauty can be clothed with such a wonderful splendor. But this wonder of the Angels will not surprise us when we see and hear that God Himself considers the beauty of grace with astonishment and rapture. For how otherwise can we explain what He says in The Canticle of Canticles to the soul: 'How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!' (Cant. 4:1)." — Fr. Matthias J. Scheeben, p. 133 AN EXCERPT FROM The Glories of Divine Grace

† VERSE OF THE DAY Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

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ST. RAYMOND NONNATUS

St. Raymond Nonnatus (1200-1240) was born in Catalonia, Spain, to a noble family. His life was saved by caesarean section after his mother died in childbirth, earning him the name 'Nonnatus' meaning 'one not born'. Raymond was a pious child drawn to the religious life, but his father had plans for him to serve in the royal court of the King of Aragon. To distract Raymond from his vocation, his father sent him to tend the family fields. This had the opposite effect and gave Raymond greater opportunity to pray in the country chapel. His father eventually allowed him to join the Mercedarians, a religious order which ransomed Christian slaves from their Muslim captors. Raymond became Master General of the order and personally freed hundreds of prisoners. When he ran out of money, he ransomed his own life to release Christians held in captivity. St. Raymond was tortured throughout his imprisonment, yet he converted numerous people to the Christian faith. To prevent him from preaching Christ, his captors pierced his lips with a red-hot iron and closed them with a padlock. He was eventually ransomed by his order and returned to Spain, and died a year later. After his death there was a dispute over who had the right to bury his body. To settle the matter, his body was placed on a blind mule and set loose. The mule went to the country chapel where Raymond had prayed in his youth, and it was there that he was buried. Many miracles were attributed to St. Raymond Nonnatus both before and after his death. He is the patron of children, childbirth, pregnant women, infants, and midwives. His feast day is August 31st.

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Cor 1:17-25

Brothers and sisters: Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set aside.

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11 R. (5) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Exult, you just, in the LORD; praise from the upright is fitting. Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises. R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. For upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations; he foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the LORD stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations. R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Alleluia Lk 21:36 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Be vigilant at all times and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

21st Week in Ordinary Time

Behold, the bridegroom! (Matthew 25:6)

This parable of the ten bridesmaids might seem gloomy to us, even frightening, with its locked door and grim "I do not know you" (Matthew 25:12). We might shy away from it for fear we might be found among the foolish. But even if his strong language makes you nervous, remember that Jesus wants us to be ready to greet him when he returns. So let's turn to Jesus, our bridegroom, and pray:

"Lord, you know how hard it can be for me to wait. I know I should be watching for your return, but it seems so far off. People that I love are suffering, and I am still waiting for an answer to my prayers. People that I love have died, and I miss them—I want to see them again. And there is so much that I don't understand about the world. I know that, one day, you will heal every wound and wipe away every tear. I know that there will be no more sickness, no more suffering. But while I wait for that day, I need to know your closeness. Will you wait with me, Lord? Fill me, Lord, with your hope and patience.

"Jesus, sometimes I fall asleep—but you already know that. I intend to come to you in prayer, but I get too busy. I want to read your word, but it's much easier to watch television or surf the Internet. I know you would gladly fill my lamp, but I'm so drowsy that I can't even tell when my oil supply is running low. But none of this surprises you. You always keep watch over me, even when I sleep. You have plenty of oil for me: plenty of grace and strength to help me stay awake. Fill me, Lord, with vigilance.

"Lord, when I think about your return, I start to feel nervous, not joyful. I wonder whether I am a wise or foolish disciple. Will I be ready? But you are the bridegroom, and you are completely committed to me. You came once to die and rise for me, and you will come again to bring me home. Just thinking about your love casts out my fear. I can just imagine the joy in your eyes as we both look forward to that reunion. Fill me, Lord, with your joy.

"Jesus, my bridegroom, fill my lamp today."

my2cents:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set aside. Where is the wise one?" A while back, a deacon brother had wanted men to get back in action in our area, especially in the cursillo movement. He wanted men to take on a 30 Day challenge that was offered online or something, so I tried to look into it. He said it was called Men Rise Up, and when I tried looking for it, I couldn't find it, because I kept saying and thinking it was Men Wise up! LOL, I had Elmer Fudd Ears, siwy wabbit! But wouldn't it be the same, if we said to rise is to be wise? Rise up to the challenge. Wise up to the challenge. Rise like the Son. Wise like the Son. Do not depend solely on what you are learning from books or TV or internet. In our CCD programs teacher's meeting, about half showed up, and I blurted out to reiterate what needed to be said "there is indeed a disconnect from these books to the children, they don't see the connection...it is a spiritual connection". So they grow up and away from the faith. Yeah, you learned "stuff", but it didn't make any sense. So it will take the few of us to rise up, and wise up. It is a challenge, and at the same time...an honor. Make the connection.

Let us pray: " The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations; he foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the LORD stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations." What's funny about God's word? It's funny that even though people twist it around every which way, things still lead back to Him in the end. It is invincible. Truth is invincible. Jesus is the Truth. It is impossible, perhaps to the frustrations of many. In the end of many atheist arguments, or pro-abortion rhetoric, there is in the end, just hatred. So how do you fight hatred? Surely not with hatred as theirs, but hatred of sin, and disgusted with sin, to the degree that you go the other way, to the ultimate degree of God's love. In the end, an atheist led by Love is converted, a pro-abortion person becomes a most prolific pro-lifer. Why? Because love is invincible, and God is love, and Jesus is God.

So let us turn to our Lord's words, when He teaches a parable of 10 virgins. Those that were there for Him, but not all there for Him. "Five of them were foolish and five were wise. " Foolish for not having oil, for not being properly prepared. Foolish for thinking they were "good enough". Foolish for depending on their own wisdom. But what God asks for, is for a reason, and a good reason at that! How many times in our youth did we argue with our parents because "they just don't understand"? It's like, they need to understand me! But you don't understand them. That's how it is with our Lord. Right now, you don't understand Him, nor do we want to, simply because He don't understand me. I've heard many prisoner's talking, and free people, and it sounds like I have to understand their justifications. The homosexual has justifications, the alcoholic has justifications, and the thief, and the adulterer. It's like, we have to understand them so we can accept them (their lifestyle choice), right? So why do I sit with these folks and talk to them about God? So they will understand Him. What He wants is for our own good. Perhaps even...our salvation. The culture of death involves everything against life, an all out war. Here in our state, we are getting bombarded with phone calls and text messages all for a pro-death guy that wants to beat the pro-life guy. I keep telling them that until that guy is pro-life, I would consider, but as of now, that platform is dead. You can try to defeat the invincible, but in the end it will never be bent.

So what can we learn from the foolish virgins? Not much, we been there, done that, some of us still there!! No, the question is, what can we learn from the wise virgins? Who can we see in our world that is:

(1) A Virgin

(2) Faitfhul

(3) Wise Maybe a priest or a religious sister? Look further. A pure holy child? Look further. An unborn baby that is ripe for the world? Look further.

Today marks the 9th day before the birth of our Mother in Heaven. (there's a novena for her nativity) She was truly wise, faithful, and a virgin. That is who we can take a cue from. She lived her whole life for God, from beginning to end. She was ready. She always made sure she had oil. No oil, no life. Just like your car. No oil, and it will die, lights go out. It will seize up. But you can run free and good with oil. What is this so called "oil" then? That's the big question in my heart for our Lord. I want that oil. I want to be ready. I always want to make sure my flask is full of it. What makes that light burn?

Let us take a cue from the gates of Heaven "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven." says our Lord and our Savior Jesus. Do the will. You may not understand it. But do HIS Will. You may doubt even, but DO HIS WILL. Ahh, what beautiful smelling oil this is. Like Rosemary oil. Like olive oil with rose petals. Like incense. God's will is that you are like Him, pure and Holy and be found spreading the light. That's it. Light for the world. The virgins went off in darkness and tried to come back from the darkness. No my child. Not you. You are mine. You be ready always. Remember the forever now. This is Your Father speaking

adrian

For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com

Each of Us Is a Cherished Story

Our life is not pure chance or a mere struggle for survival, rather each of us is a cherished story loved by God. That we have "found grace in his eyes" means that the Creator sees a unique beauty in our being and that he has a magnificent plan for our lives. The awareness of this certainty, of course, does not resolve all our problems nor does it take away life's uncertainties. But it does have the power to transform our life deeply.

† Quote "Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul." — St. Teresa of Avila

† MEDITATION OF THE DAY "I realize as never before that the Lord is gentle and merciful; He did not send me this heavy cross until I could bear it. If He had sent it before, I am certain that it would have discouraged me . . . I desire nothing at all now except to love until I die of love. I am free, I am not afraid of anything, not even of what I used to dread most of all . . . a long illness which would make me a burden to the community. I am perfectly content to go on suffering in body and soul for years, if that would please God. I am not in the least afraid of living for a long time; I am ready to go on fighting." — St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 122 AN EXCERPT FROM The Story of a Soul

† VERSE OF THE DAY "For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." 1 Corinthians 15:21-26

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Saint Jeanne Jugan

(October 25, 1792 – August 29, 1879)

Born in northern France during the French Revolution—a time when congregations of women and men religious were being suppressed by the national government, Jeanne would eventually be highly praised in the French academy for her community's compassionate care of elderly poor people.

When Jeanne was three and a half years old, her father, a fisherman, was lost at sea. Her widowed mother was hard pressed to raise her eight children alone; four died young. At the age of 15 or 16, Jeanne became a kitchen maid for a family that not only cared for its own members, but also served poor, elderly people nearby. Ten years later, Jeanne became a nurse at the hospital in Le Rosais. Soon thereafter, she joined a third order group founded by Saint John Eudes.

After six years she became a servant and friend of a woman she met through the third order. They prayed, visited the poor, and taught catechism to children. After her friend's death, Jeanne and two other women continued a similar life in the city of Saint-Sevran. In 1839, they brought in their first permanent guest. They began an association, received more members, and more guests. Mère Marie of the Cross, as Jeanne was now known, founded six more houses for the elderly by the end of 1849, all staffed by members of her association—the Little Sisters of the Poor. By 1853, the association numbered 500 and had houses as far away as England.

Abbé Le Pailleur, a chaplain, had prevented Jeanne's reelection as superior in 1843; nine years later, he had her assigned to duties within the congregation, but would not allow her to be recognized as its founder. In 1890, the Holy See removed him from office.

By the time Pope Leo XIII gave her final approval to the community's constitutions in 1879, there were 2,400 Little Sisters of the Poor. Jeanne died later that same year, on August 30. Her cause was introduced in Rome in 1970. She was beatified in 1982, and canonized in 2009.

Reflection Jeanne Jugan saw Christ in what Saint Teresa of Calcutta would describe as his "distressing disguises." With great confidence in God's providence and the intercession of Saint Joseph, she begged willingly for the many homes that she opened, relying on the good example of the Sisters and the generosity of benefactors who knew the good that the Sisters were doing. They now work in 30 countries. "With the eye of faith, we must see Jesus in our old people—for they are God's mouthpiece," Jeanne once said. No matter what the difficulties, she was always able to praise God and move ahead.

Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Cor 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the Church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord. Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works. R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord. They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds and declare your greatness. They publish the fame of your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your justice. R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Alleluia Mt 24:42a, 44 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Catholic Meditations Meditation: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

21st Week in Ordinary Time

To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:2)

How about exploring today's first reading in a somewhat different way? Let's pay special attention to a class of little words called "prepositions." For example: Of. In. Upon. It's easy to skip right over them, but these words can make a world of difference—especially in the Scriptures.

Prepositions express relationships. Sometimes they describe how things relate physically: Where is the hiker? On the mountain. Other times, they relate something to its source: she is from Argentina. Still others point to a destination: we're walking toward the canyon.

Paul used prepositions again and again—like an adventurer relying on a trusty tool—to describe how we relate to Christ. Look at just a few of the ways that Paul expresses our relationship with the Lord in today's reading alone. According to him, we are

• In Christ (1:2)

• Upon Christ (1:2)

• To Christ (1:6)

• With Christ (1:9)

Each of these little phrases tells us something new about our relationship with the Lord.

Consider "in Christ," for example. You could say that it means your life has been completely taken up into Christ's life. In Christ your old self died. In Christ you were raised up and made into a new creation. In Christ you are loved as a son or daughter of God.

That's not all. Because Christ lives in you, he is with you always. Wherever you go, you bring Christ with you. Like Mary, you bear him to the world.

And think of this: you will be in Christ forever—into eternity. There will never be a time when you are not in Christ.

What a difference one little word can make! So today spend some time reflecting on how this phrase, or one of the others, describes your relationship with Jesus. What seems special or pertinent to you right now? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You never know—those prepositions might have more to say to you than you think!

"Lord, thank you for this wonderful truth: I am found in you."

Psalm 145:2-7 Matthew 24:42-51

my2cents:

"...to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy..." "He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful..." Would it be ok to say "Be Holy to the End"? It's almost as if it strikes a weird chord in many folks. All it means is "be faithful". Just be faithful. God is faithful. We just heard that in Scripture. Did you forget? What's awesome about that, is that God can not go back on Himself, He IS. That is the awesomeness of Heaven too. Here on earth we seem to go back. But there, you can't. You can't go back on yourself. Hard concepts. Like living eternally, we can't grasp that really. Celestial beings...whaaaat? Be faithful and you will see angels ascending and descending...this is what our Lord asks His disciple, not just one, but to all His followers, because you in turn can be an angel ascending to get more blessings to bring down to others, amen?

Let us pray: "I will praise your name for ever, Lord. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable." How can you praise His name forever? Here's a secret. Do it now. Now! Now is the day. God lives in the forever "now" they say. Now and always now. It is a being. It is living in the being. And the being is the Lord.

Let us turn to our Lord today: "Stay awake!" and, "...you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Unexpected things happen, don't they? Catch you off guard. Unprepared. And your faith, if not well prepared and awake, your faith will be shaken and tested. An unexpected pregnancy. A family member sick or you yourself get struck with something. We are all susceptible. And you are susceptible to spiritual maladies as well. Just like the body gets struck unexpectedly, so does the soul. Remain. If you remain in Him, then the first Scripture is fulfilled "He will keep you firm to the end". The whole of the purpose of me writing to you is to help you (and me) remain, faithful, remain, true, remain, in Him. It is a state of being, this remaining. It is a way of life, this remaining.

We can start living a life wide awake. How? The cartoon I sent above, after sifting through seemingly hundreds of photos for these writings, I look for a fitting image to the Scripture. Texting! I told you to stay awake! Can you not remain with me for one hour without texting! LOL. Aren't we guilty of being glitchy if we don't have our phones? You pat yourself down 'my phone...where's my phone!". In the world people are always looking down... to their phones. How will you see Jesus in front of you, if you are distracted? How can you look up if you are always looking down? He can be found all around. And here's a secret that can help make you holy that I try to live by: Jesus could come at you at any moment, in any way or in any person He wishes. Without warning. Catch you off-guard. Be afraid! LOL, be VERY AFRAID. Fear of the Lord is a pure gift of God. It is connected with Awe of the Lord. A wonderful gift of God. I suppose most of my thoughts of Heaven are of wonder and awe. That's all I envision. Just being awed at every glance and in every corner. WOW! Amazing!

In the garden of Gethsemane, His disciples were not awake, they were sleepy. Their prayer life fell. They fell into temptation. They weren't being the leverage God asked for, for the blessings of the world.

Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. -Proverbs 20:13

So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be serious. ...- 1Thes 5:6

"Remain here and stay awake with Me."- Jesus Jesus went off to pray.

"stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:36

Once your prayer life goes down, you become vulnerable. Vulnerable to what? To lose your train of thought, your...remaining. Your state of grace even. What good is it to receive Christ asleep? Communion. Community. Jesus surprised the disciples, didn't He? At the garden before the crucifixion, and at the resurrection, He just kept surprising them, over and over again. Many times they'd get drowsy, weak, afraid, lose their train of thought thus grace. But thank God He wakes up people from their sleep, like the little girl He told everyone "she is not dead, but sleeping". Everyone scoffed at Him. Then...she woke up.

GIVE HER SOMETHING TO EAT, he turns and says to them. Don't let her die on your watch ever again. And He offers Himself as food for the world....

adrian

For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com